By allowing prisoners to have some contact with friends and family while incarcerated, the justice system aims to facilitate their transition back into society upon release. Traditional forms of contact include telephone calls, in-person visitation, etc. More recently, technological advances have allowed jails and prisons to provide other types of visitation, including individual-to-individual videoconferences and online chat sessions.
Traditional communication services of controlled-environment facilities (such as correctional facilities) include allowing residents (e.g., inmates) to place outbound phone calls to non-residents of the controlled-environment facility. However, residents of controlled-environment facilities are typically restricted from unauthorized communications with individuals outside of the controlled-environment facility.